Guam – Loving the atmosphere
All five of Guam’s representatives were back in action in the pool on day 3 of the Pacific Mini Games.
Ocean Campus found himself in a race with fellow countryman Jaden Francis in the Men’s 50m Butterfly Heats, the pair were separated by 0.17 seconds with Ocean edging out Jaden, setting 27.38 against Francis’s 27.55. Israel Poppe went in the Men’s 100m Breaststroke and gained a time of 1:08.96. He said afterwards,
“I’ve got faster, so I’m happy with that. I’ve gotten some personal bests too, like in my 100m butterfly.”
Mia Lee progressed out of the heats in the Women’s 50m Butterfly and is surely Guam’s brightest chance of a medal. Amaya Bollinger was under one second back from Mia’s pleasing 29:29. Her time of 30.26 illustrating just how fine the margins are, across these short 50m disciplines.
And so it was time for another evening of Finals at the pool and it was an all too familiar story for Mia, who again went exasperatingly close to a bronze medal, finishing in 29.17. Despite coming so close, she remains positive about her performance at these Games,
‘I went in with a mindset of just swimming my race and doing my thing. It’s not my personal best but I’m okay with it.’
She went on to say,
‘I’m loving being in this atmosphere with my fellow Pacific islanders.”
Mia goes again in the 50m,100m, and 200m Freestyle hoping she can hunt down a medal that has thus far eluded her.
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Words & interviews: The Reporters’ Academy. Photos: Ryota Nishida